For those combatting transnational forest crime, the ability to identify and prevent stolen timber from import into domestic markets is a vital tool but for too long there has been no real international consensus as to how to judge whether timber has been legally acquired, leaving enforcement struggling to operate
The vaquita, with fewer than 30 of the tiny porpoises left alive – plummeting from 600 in less than two decades – is the most endangered animal on the planet. Found only in Mexico’s Upper Gulf of California, the vaquita’s survival depends on the urgent removal of all illegal gillnets from their marine habitat
A packed agenda saw a wide range of issues raised, from tiger farms and domestic ivory markets to management of seized timber stocks and guidance for demand reduction programmes. We were busy preparing and making interventions coordinating with other NGOs in preventing over-exploitation of wildlife worldwide
It can be a little frustrating (if somewhat predictable) to see our findings dismissed out-of-hand by official mouthpieces for those governments we have cause to identify as either directly promoting harmful, even criminal, environmental policies or turning a blind eye to corruption on their watch
Despite commitments and international attention, work to save the world’s most endangered marine mammal are proving inadequate – without urgent coordinated action from Mexico, the US and China, the extinction of the vaquita seems inevitable as, despite efforts by the Mexican Government, illegal fishing still continues
Last September, the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) listed the entire genus of Dalbergia – more commonly known as rosewoods or redwoods – on its Appendix II, granting the species significantly higher protection through limiting trade